In this work we apply the methods of band structure calculation combined with self-consistent treatment of the light-matter interaction to a variety of problems in bulk semiconductors and semiconductor heterostructures as well as in new optoelectronic devices. In particular, we utilize the 30- and 8-band k · p band structure calculation methods to study the electronic, magnetic, and optical properties of the diluted magnetic semiconductor, GaMnAs, in the mean-field Zener model. We calculate the anisotropic dielectric response of GaMnAs in the metallic regime and show that our model produces a good agreement with the experimental results of magneto-optical Kerr spectroscopy in the interband transition region. We also discuss the advantages of the 30-band k · p model for spin-polarized ferromagnetic GaMnAs. We present new methods for calculating electronic states in low-dimensional semiconductor heterostructures based on the real-space Hamiltonian. The formalism provides extreme simplicity of the numerical implementation and superior accuracy of the results. They are applicable to a general n-band k · p model and specifically tested in the 6- and 8-band k · p models, and a simple parabolic one band model. The transparency of the new method allows us to investigate the origin and elimination of spurious solutions in the unified manner. Spurious solutions have long been a major issue in low- dimensional band structure calculations. As an application of nonlinear optical interactions in two-dimensional semiconductor heterostructures, we calculate the upper limits on the efficiency of the passive terahertz difference frequency generation based on the intersubband resonant nonlinearity. Our approach incorporates electronic states together with propagating coupled fields through the self-consistent calculation of the Poisson equation, density matrix equations, and coupled wave equations. We develop optimal device geometries and systematically study the device performance as a function of various parameters. The results are compared with a simplified analytic solution. The electronic version of this dissertation is accessible from http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/152436

The theoretical basis and the relevant experimental knowledge underlying our present understanding of the electrical and optical properties of semiconductor heterostructures. Although such structures have been known since the 1940s, it was only in the 1980s that they moved to the forefront of research. The resulting structures have remarkable properties not shared by bulk materials. The text begins with a description of the electronic properties of various types of heterostructures, including discussions of complex band-structure effects, localised states, tunnelling phenomena, and excitonic states. The focus of the remainder of the book is on optical properties, including intraband absorption, luminescence and recombination, Raman scattering, subband optical transitions, nonlinear effects, and ultrafast optical phenomena. The concluding chapter presents an overview of some of the applications that make use of the physics discussed. Appendices provide background information on band structure theory, kinetic theory, electromagnetic modes, and Coulomb effects.

This textbook gives a complete and fundamental introduction to the properties of III-V compound semiconductor devices, highlighting the theoretical and practical aspects of their device physics. Beginning with an introduction to the basics of semiconductor physics, it presents an overview of the physics and preparation of compound semiconductor materials, as well as a detailed look at the electrical and optical properties of compound semiconductor heterostructures. The book concludes with chapters dedicated to a number of heterostructure electronic and photonic devices, including the high-electron-mobility transistor, the heterojunction bipolar transistor, lasers, unipolar photonic devices, and integrated optoelectronic devices. Featuring chapter-end problems, suggested references for further reading, as well as clear, didactic schematics accompanied by six information-rich appendices, this textbook is ideal for graduate students in the areas of semiconductor physics or electrical engineering. In addition, up-to-date results from published research make this textbook especially well-suited as a self-study and reference guide for engineers and researchers in related industries.

Optical and electronic properties of semiconductors are strongly influenced by the different possibilities of carriers to be distributed among the various extrema of the band structure or the transfer between them. The monograph Optical Properties of III-V Semiconductors is concerned with the III-V bulk and low-dimensional semiconductors with the emphasis on the implications of multi-valley bandstructures on the physical mechanisms essential for opto-electronic devices. The optical response of such semiconductor materials is determined by many-body effects like screening, gap narrowing, Fermi-edge singularity, electron-hole plasma and liquid formation. The discussion of the latter features is presented self-consistently with the dynamics of excitons and carriers resulting from intervalley coupling.

A finely-structured, state-of-the-art review on controlled building of atomic-scale mutilayers, where nanometric structures based on III-V semiconductors have attracted particular attention.

This book takes the reader from the very basics of III-V semiconductors (some preparation in quantum mechanics and electromagnetism is helpful) and shows how seemingly obscure results such as detailed forms of the Hamiltonian, optical transition strengths, and recombination mechanisms follow.

The dramatic impact of low dimensional semiconductor structures on c- rent and future device applications cannot be overstated. Research over the last decade has highlighted the use of quantum engineering to achieve p- viously unknown limits for device performance in research laboratories. The modi?ed electronic structure of semiconductor quantum structures results in transport and optical properties, which di?er from those of constituent bulk materials. The possibility to tailor properties, such as bandgap, strain, band o?set etc. , of two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors, e. g. quantum wells, for speci?c purposes has had an extensive impact on the electronics, which has resulted in a dramatic renewal process. For instance, 2D structures are today used in a large number of high speed electronics and optoelectronic appli- tions (e. g. detectors, light emitting diodes, modulators, switches and lasers) and in daily life, in e. g. LED-based tra?c lights, CD-players, cash registers. The introduction of impurities, also in very small concentrations, in a semiconductor can change its optical and electrical properties entirely. This attribute of the semiconductor is utilized in the manifoldness of their app- cations. This fact constitutes the principal driving force for investigation of the properties of the impurities in semiconductors. While the impurities in bulk materials have been investigated for a long time, and their properties are fairly well established by now, the corresponding studies of impurities in quantum wells is a more recent research area.